Idaho vs Tennessee

Head-to-head homesteading comparison across taxes, land, climate, laws, safety & more

Idaho

Rank #3

Overall Score

72.0

Category Wins

5/10

Tennessee

Rank #1

Overall Winner

Overall Score

73.6

Category Wins

5/10

Quick Comparison

Winner highlighted per category

0.63%

Property Tax

0.56%

95.3

Cost of Living

89.7

$4,180

Farm Land $/Acre

$4,500

160 days

Growing Season

230 days

25"

Annual Rainfall

60"

9/10

Soil Quality

7/10

10/10

Safety (Rural)

8/10

10/10

Gun Friendly

9/10

4.92 hrs

Solar (PSH)

4.45 hrs

82%

Broadband

85%

Tennessee Edges Out Idaho Overall

With an overall homesteading score of 73.6 vs 72.0, Tennessee comes out ahead in our balanced analysis — winning 5 out of 10 key categories. But the best state for you depends on what matters most.

Key differences: Idaho offers cheaper farmland at $4,180/acre vs $4,500/acre. Tennessee has a longer growing season (230 vs 160 days). Tennessee has lower property taxes (0.56% vs 0.63%).

Scroll down to the full comparison table for a deep dive into every metric, or use our ranking tool to weight these factors by what matters most to you.

Full Data Comparison

Side-by-side comparison of selected states across homesteading metrics
Data Point	Idaho ID	Tennessee TN
Taxes & Cost
	Yes	No
	5.3%	—
	6.02%	9.55%
	0.63%	0.56%
	95.3	89.7
Land & Building
	$4,180	$4,500
	No Statewide Code	Partial
	Yes (Statewide)	Varies
Climate & Growing
	3b-7b	6a-8a
	160	230
	25"	60"
	9	7
	5	3
	1	5
Water & Energy
	Allowed with Limits	Unrestricted
	4.92	4.45
	Yes	No
Laws & Freedom
	None	Low
	10	9
	Strong	Strong
	Yes (Retail Sales)	Herd Share Only
	Yes	Yes
Safety & Healthcare
	237	600
	30%	44%
Demographics & Community
	23.5	167.4
	30%	34%
	82%	85%
Business
	#11	#8
	$100/yr	$300/yr
	2.9%	3.5%

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